The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain Chapters 1-5

Chapter 1 – Question 1 Explain how Huck and Tom become “rich.” Tom and Huck become rich when they find money that robbers had hidden in a cave. They each got $6,000 in gold.

With whom does Huck live? Question 2 With whom does Huck live? Huck lives with the Widow Douglass and her spinster sister Miss Watson.

Question 3 What are the many things Miss Watson tries to teach Huck? Miss Watson teaches Huck: Moses and the Bulrushers Spelling Good/ bad place (heaven /hell)

Question 4 Give an example that reveals Huck’s belief in superstition. Huck considers the spider that burns in the candle wax to be bad luck. Huck turned around three times, crossed his breast every time, and tied a lock of hair with thread to keep witches away.

Who arrives to visit Huck? Why? Tom Sawyer arrives to visit Huck. Question 5 Who arrives to visit Huck? Why? Tom Sawyer arrives to visit Huck. He has come to stay with his aunts.

Jim is Miss Watson’s slave. Chapter 2 – Question 1 Who is Jim? Jim is Miss Watson’s slave.

Question 2 Discuss the “prank” the boys play on Jim. Whose idea is it to play the “prank”? Huck and Tom play the prank on Jim. Tom hangs Jim’s hat on a tree limb above where Jim falls asleep. The prank was Tom’s idea.

Question 3 Discuss Tom Sawyer’s Gang: members, oath, and ransom. Tom Sawyer’s Gang consisted of Tom, Huck, Joe Harper, Ben Rogers, and some other unnamed boys. They take an oath and write their name in blood. If they break the oath they and their family will be murdered. Huck offers Miss Watson rather than Pap as “family.” Tom says hostages are to be taken back to the hideout and “ransomed,” means which he thinks means death. They cannot rob and murder on Sundays.

Chapter 3 – Question 4 Who is Pap, and what knowledge about him makes Huck “uncomfortable”? Pap, Huck’s father, hasn’t been seen in a year. He was thought to be dead. The body they found in the river floated on its back, so Huck knew it was a woman’s body. (A woman’s body floats face-up in the water.) Huck knows Pap will eventually turn up.

Question 5 In what episode is the Gang involved, and how does this illustrate the theme of fantasy vs. reality? How do Tom and Huck have a different outlook on things? The Gang only pretends. The boys were supposed to rob Spanish merchants and A-rabs, but no Spaniards, A-rabs, camels, or elephants were there. It was a Sunday school picnic. Tom fantasizes saying it only appeared to be a picnic due to a magician, but everything really was there. Tom teaches Huck about genies. Huck doesn’t believe Tom, and thinks it was a picnic. Huck (who is literal-minded) tries to rub a lamp to get a genie.

Chapter 4 – Question 1 What does Huck see that makes him go to Judge Thatcher’s? Huck goes to Judge Thatcher’s house when he sees tracks in the snow. The boot track had a cross in the bootheel with nails to ward off the devil. Huck knows it is Pap’s boot.

Question 2 What deal do Huck and Judge Thatcher make? Huck “sells” his fortune to the Judge for $1.00.

Question 3 Discuss the specific role of superstition in this chapter. Give examples of superstition from the chapter. Pap’s bootheel has a cross with nails to ward off the devil Jim has a hairball from the stomach of an ox. The hairball “tells” about Pap.

Question 4 Who is waiting for Huck in his room? When Huck lit the candle in his room that night, Pap was waiting for him.

Chapter 5 – Question 1 Describe Pap and how he treats Huck. Pap is almost 50 years old. He has long, tangled, greasy, black hair. He has long whiskers. He has no color in his face; his face is so pale, he looks ill. His clothes are rags. His boot is busted, and his toes are sticking out. Pap hits Huck when he first sees him.

Question 2 Is he truly a “father”? Explain why/why not. Pap is Huck’s biological father, but he does not portray himself as fatherly. Pap does not show any concern for Huck’s living circumstances other than chastising Huck for becoming uppity. He is abusive and only wants what he can get from Huck.

Question 3 For what reasons is Pap angry with Huck? Pap is angry with Huck because he has too many frills, can read and write because he goes to school, and has a room with a bed.

Question 4 Why is Huck not “separated” from Pap by the courts? Courts will not separate Huck from Pap. The courts work to keep families together.

Question 5 Discuss Pap’s reform and lack thereof. Pap’s promised reform does not occur. Pap got drunk with $3.00 and got thrown in jail that night continued to be jailed for a week. Pap says he is a new man. The new judge takes Pap in and cleans him up. Pap climbs out of his room and trades his new coat for alcohol. He came home and left again. He rolled off the porch and broke his left arm, almost froze to death but ultimately found.

Foil Characters Miss Watson versus Widow Douglass Owns Jim No slaves Narrow-minded Fewer restrictions Offered for death to Gang Humanitarian Teaches spelling, manners, and religion Tolerant

Foil Characters Tom Sawyer versus Huck Finn Fantasy Reality Books Real-life Conformity Non-conformity